5 Mods you loved / 5 Mods you didn't

[Ramo]

After the overhaul the vanos never managed to work properly and it would always fail the test. It was performed by a BMW specialist, so I don't believe it was his fault. Plus it was done as preventive maintenance and before that, Vanos was running faultless. He checked timing 4 times and removed - re-installed vanos 3 times. I bought a used unit and solved the problem.

The brakes don't seem to have enough power and they show signs of fatigue earlier than expected. Plus pedal bite is not as firm as expected. I run ds2500s with rbf660 and during fast mountain drives I'm out of brakes soon...

Maybe it’s not worth to get the brembo bbk from freaky parts then because I was looking to get that kit.

[gorilla69]

Hmm, what's the reasoning with these two?

After the overhaul the vanos never managed to work properly and it would always fail the test. It was performed by a BMW specialist, so I don't believe it was his fault. Plus it was done as preventive maintenance and before that, Vanos was running faultless. He checked timing 4 times and removed - re-installed vanos 3 times. I bought a used unit and solved the problem.

The brakes don't seem to have enough power and they show signs of fatigue earlier than expected. Plus pedal bite is not as firm as expected. I run ds2500s with rbf660 and during fast mountain drives I'm out of brakes soon...

[r4dr]

- Ohlins Road and Track Coilovers (Custom valved and with Ohlins camber plates/swift springs setup)

What spring rates did you end up at? Did you go through 3DM?

[VisorM3]

Hmm, what's the reasoning with these two?

Had the same question going through this thread lol

[BMWahba]

Love
- Carbon Roof, very noticeable weight difference from a sunroof car and looks amazing.
- AutoSolutions "Autocross" Kit, by far the best feeling shifter of any car I have driven. I love it.
- Vincebar install while totally re-building my entire rear end, including painting it, powdercoating the subframe, all new bushings etc. The peace of mind as well as the feeling of the car transformed night and day from stock rubber worn junk.
- Karbonius CSL Center Console
- Ohlins Road and Track Coilovers (Custom valved and with Ohlins camber plates/swift springs setup)


Hate
- The installer of my roof, screwed me a little bit.

Other than that nothing, I have researched every purchase 50x over to make sure I'd like what i was doing! I have a Karbonius box waiting to be installed, hopefully I love that lol

[r4dr]

Would not mind not spending money for:
- Beisan vanos kit
- Freaky parts Brembo BBK

Hmm, what's the reasoning with these two?

[shibui]

I got news for you, super loud muffs don’t sound good on any car.
Surprised how many times CSL airbox is mentioned in the regret column.


favorites, pretty much all I’ve done to it:
headers with scza and race cats - just awesome
kn 57 - surprisingly loud, have to compare it to the csl intake someday
CSL software for smg
B12 - I’m sure there are better out there but i don’t regret it, well, maybe regret not going full coilover
Gloss black grills and gills

Regerts:
smoked anything - they don’t fit right and they don’t last.

I dunno, I’m a fan of Italian V12s with loud mufflers. Maybe it’s because they’re Italian they have the license to be more flamboyant. Some V8s too. Not all V8s though.

/shrug

[Icecream]

- Loud section 3s, just doesn't sound good on our cars.

I got news for you, super loud muffs don’t sound good on any car.
Surprised how many times CSL airbox is mentioned in the regret column.


favorites, pretty much all I’ve done to it:
headers with scza and race cats - just awesome
kn 57 - surprisingly loud, have to compare it to the csl intake someday
CSL software for smg
B12 - I’m sure there are better out there but i don’t regret it, well, maybe regret not going full coilover
Gloss black grills and gills

Regerts:
smoked anything - they don’t fit right and they don’t last.

[shibui]

Have had my M3 for 8 years now and it's been through a few variations.

+

- Proper coilovers + Hotchkiss Hollow Sways
- Lightweight wheels (previous owner had some heavy ass 19" wheels so it felt like a brand new car when I did this) + square setup
- Removing weight and lightening the car to around 3k lbs
- CSL body bits (still in love with the design today)
- Euro Center Console Conversion

-

- Loud section 3s, just doesn't sound good on our cars. I've since modified the stock one and it's perfect IMO and goes well together with the sound deadening removal.
- Matte black grills... black wheels... (personal taste)
- Staggered setup (just don't like how the car behaves with too much stagger)
- Progressive springs with cheap coilovers
- Losing my cupholders (keeping it that way though, I'll manage)

[sc_tr0jan_m3]

I'll throw my 2 cents in for the track rats out there:

Most fav

• MCS 2 way with remotes
• Half cage with bucket seats with harness
• Epic Motorsports tune
• Garmin catalyst
• Essex AP front kit

Least fav

• Kinda wish I kept the carpet for the front half of the car
• GruppeM exhaust... the thing was loud, farty, and droned like a mofo
• Cheap koni coilovers
• Having to fix the previous owners issues for almost a year
• Cheap wheels. I've learned to just save up for the good stuff then buy it once.

[Nate047]

Things I didn't like

3. Tramlining due to zero toe and a lot of neg camber

I feel this. But I got used to it, only sucks after you don't drive the car for a while and then get back in LOL.

[enjoy_m3]

I have a quiet exhaust so I can hear my CSL box.crazy loud exhausts will drown out the CSL noise so I guess you would need to pick which noise you prefer.CSL box or exhaust.

thanks for the input guys. Well I have an amuse exhaust and I do like it. Look like I'm staying stock intake. LOL

[T.J.]

this is what I did to pass NY inspection.its a mod you really want to do for it to be worth it.

I would imagine a lot of states have the OBD check as part of emissions check- am I wrong?

[robgill]

Great thread, Love seeing all the feedback in one place.

Love
- Sunroof delete (either panel or carbon roof) with non-sunroof headliner. SOOO much more headroom (I'm tall).
- SCZA Section 3. Yeah you have to deal with Status Gruppe but when it actually arrives its the best sounding muffler imho.
- 996 Brembos. Fun project and they look and perform great.
- OEM CSL Trunk.
- "Short" center console and armrest delete. Always thought the OE armrest looked like an afterthought and was basically useless.

Hate
- CSL tune. Cant pass NYC inspection and drivability sucked. Go Alpha N.
- Bimmerworld 3.5 Exhaust. I knew it was loud going in, and I still got it. Straight up ruined the car, even on track.
- Angel eyes. I like the look but hate the janky wiring in the engine bay.
- Door pull straps.
- Anything Poly

[maw1124]

I haven’t done anything I didn’t love... chalk that up to due diligence and the car being well thought and well bought...

Loved:
1) Dynavin head unit (original & N7 Pro)... best solution for pixelation on the screen of 15 year old tech
2) BSW (now BavSound) speakers and ski pass sub (verts only), plus Hertz 4-way cabin amp... best stock look and feel audio upgrade IMO
3) OETuning ECU Tune — good midrange torque bump
4) TTFS SMG Tune
5) How could I forget the sound deadening to go with the stereo install. The engine noise through the firewall was teeth chattering with the top up. Honorable mention: Convertible Wind Screen (technically not a mod, but... you get my drift)... the tint was nice too.

maw

PS... this is absolutely a great thread... there’s so much trash out there people throw at these cars... it’s a good quick way to know what not to do... cuts the noise and increases the signal.